MY stirring whisk :)

we put away our christmas tree this week and so i gave the stirring whisk project a try...

and it went pretty well :)

i cut the trunk into sections and then debarked them. since i watered our tree every day, it was still pretty fresh, so it was pretty easy to debark it, plus it made our living room smell sooo nice!

now i just have to carve the date onto it, let it dry out and then give it a nice coat of kitchen linseed oil.

here are my tips:

- try to do this project while the tree is still a little fresh, it makes it easier! with dry trees it might help to put the whisk sections into water for a day or so(like my dad suggested)... 

- cut the side(whisk) branches longer than you need and trim after debarking.

- to make a rounded end i used my gardening scissors to chomp around it - much easier than doing it with a knife. 

p.s. like my fish knife? :) i've had this since i was a kid! almost every kid had one of these...they're not too sharp(only if you sharpen it ;). an they still sell them!

Mezirici chocolate sauce

this is the B.E.S.T. chocolate sauce i have ever had! it's our family's traditional recipe, originally from my great grandmother (so i named it after the town where she lived - Mezirici (pronouced mezyreechee)), but i learned it from my wonderful mom, who always made and makes it to top: our delicious b-day cakes as kids, christmas pastries, crepes with strawberries and whipped cream and icecream sundays! ....or we would just secretly take a spoonful.... :)

                          ingredients:

                          3/4 cup sugar

                          50 ml water

                          125 g cool butter

                          2-3 tbsp dutch cocoa

...you might think that i made a mistake with the amt. of water, but i didn't - it really

is the key to making it "creamy"...if you want it more runny, just add a little water.

1. prepare bowl (heat resistant) with butter - small slices or cubes, add cocoa on top
2. combine sugar and water in a pot, med-high heat, stir until disolved and comes to a boil
3. pour the hot sugar-water over the butter-cocoa and stir until all ingredients combine (1-2min)

p.s. the other day my sis sent me the link to banana icecream, and i'm just "ok" w/ bananas, but this was actually really good(and heathy!) and has just one ingredient! and made a great combo w/ the chocolate sauce...since the icecream is so healthy, we don't have to feel guilty about the chocolate, right ;) ?

pf 2012

wishing everyone  h a p p i n e s s  in 2012 :) !

christmas tree stirring whisk

this czech tradition is a wonderful way to upcycle your christmas tree - make some stirring whisks!!!...lovely and USEFUL christmas memorabelia, that you can use all year round! great for mixing thin or medium thin batters and sauces.

eventhough my grandfather was never much of a crafty person, he was very much a traditional person and this is one czech tradition he followed :) he made these over 30 years ago...and i stir crepe batter with them almost every morning :) but i wish he had carved the dates on the handles....

steps:
CUT,
PEEL,
SHORTEN,
let DRY

- i've never made one before, this year will be my first and we usually "put away" our tree late january (...i love having our christmas tree as long as possible!!!), so here are some straight forward photo directions i found, and when i make mine, i'll let you know how it turned out ;)
- if your tree will be dry like ours when you do it - my dad said he thinks my grandfather soaked it in hot water before carving off the bark.
p.s. to use - clasp hands flatly with the handle in the palms of your hands and roll your hands alternately forward and backward to make the whisk twirl!



yummy gingerbread cookies

i n g r e i e n t s :

500 g flour

100 g sugar

250 g honey

1/8 l   water

1 egg

2 tsp of gingerbread spice mix*

2 tsp of holland cocoa

2 tsp baking soda

* i used this spice mix(but not the recipe),

   or here's a homemade mix

 m i x,   k n e a d,   m a k e,   b a k e:

1. m i x  flour, spice mix and soda in a bowl

2. simmer water, sugar and honey together

3. while still warm, pour sugar-honey-water into the flour

mix and  k n e a d  together (by hand or - i used my kitchenaid)

4. add egg and  k n e a d  again

5. refridgerate dough for a couple of hours

6. m a k e - roll out dough and cut out cookies

(note: we also used cookie stamps and a knife to decorate)

7. b a k e  at med-high heat and remove from oven shortly

after the cookies rise (it also depends on how thin you make your

cookies, but we baked ours at 180° C for about 3-4 minutes)

  

optional:

- as soon as you take them out of the oven - while still hot, glaze with (very well) beaten egg.

tip: if you want to have darker brown cookies, add 1-2tsp  of cocoa to the egg.

optional2:

 - when cookies are cool(i usually do it the next day), decorate with icing. 

tip: if you're having a hard time making straight lines with your icing, try making a line of dots or dashs(that is, if your icing is not too runny), looks better than a runny line! and makes the cookies cuter!

if you intend to store them, store in a container with a cinnamon stick, a few cloves and vanilla bean stick :)

p.s. they make lovely ornaments!

winter is here!

today we received our first s n o w  - yay!!!

...and it's finally starting to feel christmasy :)

p.s. i actually already posted this little guy last winter, but i accidently

erased the post, and now seemed like the right time to repost him :) 

beautiful paper cutouts

Markéta and Petr Vránovi design and sell beautiful cutouts with traditional motifs.

i bought a couple of sets 3 years ago and this is a comet from one of the xmas sets. they do require patience, but they are well worth it!!!...i copied mine onto card stock, cut out with an xacto knife and hung it with some thread. and i hang it in the window every christmas :). such lovely cutouts really give you an appreciation of how beautiful just plain ol' paper can be!

felt conifer christmas garland

....same directions as my garland wand,

only(as you can see) i didn't make such
large gaps in between the felt strips.
- my strips are approx. 3cm wide.

p.s. - place your strips onto your sewing
machine - makes the "feeding" go so
much more faster, than when you have
them on the table....found that out when
i was almost finished.

p.p.s. - a wreath would be nice too!

     

         p.p.p.s.  h a p p y  second advent sunday!

easy standing felt christmas tree

 i was making an ornament-a-day felt xmas tree for the boys, and Ji wanted to make his own, so we made an easier version for him - not that mine is anything difficult, but i was making a sewn and stuffed version that will have a wooden stand...that i still need to finish :s .....Ji dressed his already :)

  

Ji's tree:

corrugated cardboard
felt

toothpick

tools: pencil, scissors, glue stick

  

directions:

1. CUT OUT cb triangle and 2 rectangles (stand)

2. TRACE, CUT and GLUE felt
3. make STAND
DECORATE!!!


 1. cut out the triangle with the ribs going verticallly - this is important so you can stick your toothpick into one of the ribs (that way, it will be hidden and won't make a bump under the felt).
2. cut the triangles a little larger than the drawn triangle - it looks better ;), use 2 different greens - more fun :), glue with glue STICK - liquid glue could soak through the felt.
3. glue the 2 rectangles together (plain or "x"), make a hole in the center w/ your toothpick, then apply glue to both ends and stick one end into your stand and slide other end into the center rib of the cardboard

decorate!!!:
with felt scraps, thread, string....anything that will latch onto the felt (.....or when doing with older children you can use pins to pin on just about anything!)

or you can glue on your "ornaments", but i like the no-glue method more, since you can redress your tree as you like :)

tip: we found it best to decorate by holding the tree in the air by its toothpick - gives you more control   

favorite tractor

Ji got this wooden tractor and wagon from my mom's good friend for christmas 3yrs ago and he has been playing with it ever since  - almost every.single.day....literally!

it has rooftop stearing, and a dumping wagon and is very durable! he loads the wagon with all kinds of things - blocks, animals, cars, "mail", etc. and drives them from place to place.....sometimes even to clean-up!

he just loves his tractor so :)!